ACROSS THE NATION.

Cracks in fuel line found on all shuttles

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — The youngest shuttle was diagnosed Wednesday as having the same hazard as the rest of the fleet: cracked fuel lines.

The news came as no surprise to NASA, which has delayed at least one flight and has tried to determine how or when the cracks occurred.

As of Wednesday, two cracks had been discovered in the metal liners of hydrogen fuel lines inside Endeavour, the last of the four shuttles to be examined because it was on a space mission. The inspection is scheduled to continue for another day.

The problem was first detected three weeks ago on Atlantis. Inspections later uncovered cracks in the plumbing of Discovery and Columbia.

"We've got it on the other three, so we're not necessarily surprised to see that Endeavour has cracks too," said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham. "I think a reasonable person can assume we've been flying with these cracks."

Endeavour has been flying for 10 years compared with 21 years for Columbia, the oldest shuttle. NASA plans to keep the fleet flying for at least one more decade.